A Short History of Polo
Polo is thought to have originated in China and Persia around 2,000 years ago. The name of the game may well come from the word “pholo” meaning 'ball' or 'ballgame' in the Balti language of Tibet.
The first recorded game took place in 600BC between the Turkomans and Persians (the Turkomans won). In the fourth century AD, King Sapoor II of Persia learned to play, aged seven. In the 16th century, a polo ground (300 yards long and with goalposts eight yards apart) was built at Ispahan, then the capital, by Shah Abbas the Great.
The Moguls were largely responsible for taking the game from Persia to the east and, by the 16th century, the Emperor Babur had established it in India. (It had already long been played in China and Japan, but had died out by the time the West came in contact with those countries). In the 1850s, British tea planters discovered the game in Manipur (Munipoor) on the Burmese border with India. They founded the world’s first polo club at Silchar, west of Manipur. Other clubs followed and today the oldest in the world is the Calcutta Club which founded in 1862.
Malta followed in 1868 because soldiers and naval officers stopped off there on their way home from India. In 1869, Edward “Chicken” Hartopp, of the 10th Hussars, read an account of the game in The Field magazine while stationed at Aldershot and, with fellow officers, organised the first game. Then known as “hockey on horseback,” it was played on a hastily-rolled Hounslow Heath where a shortlist of about 10 rules was also hastily assembled.
But, it was John Watson (1856-1908), of the 13th Hussars, who formulated the first real rules of the game in India in the 1870s. He later formed the celebrated Freebooters team who won the first Westchester Cup match in 1886. He was a key player at the All Ireland Polo Club which was founded in 1872 by Horace Rochfort of Clogrenane, County Carlow.
The first polo club in England was Monmouthshire, founded in 1872 by Captain Francis “Tip” Herbert (1845- 1922), of the 7th Lancers, at his brother's estate at Clytha Park, near Abergavenny. Others, including Hurlingham, followed quickly.
Handicaps were introduced by the USA in 1888 and by England and India in 1910.
The first official match in Argentina took place on 3rd September 1875. The game had been taken there by English and Irish engineers and ranchers.
In 1876, Lt Col Thomas St.Quintin, of the 10th Hussars, introduced the game to Australia. He is credited with being the Father of Australian Polo. Two of his brothers stayed on there as ranchers and helped the game to develop. In the same year, polo was introduced to the USA by James Gordon Bennett Junior who had seen the game at Hurlingham during a visit to England.
Today, more than 77 countries play polo. It was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1939 and has now been recognised again by the International Olympic Committee.
International popularity of the Sport
Polo is known therefore, arguably with reason, as the “Sport of Kings and the King of Sport” and not only thanks to the blue blood it attracts…In order to succeed in this beautiful, risky and noble sport, a fine aristocratic soul alone is not enough…a long and secure banking history is also a must!
The popularity of the sport is evident in the famous faces that enjoy playing Polo. That have included and include: Winston Churchill who played until he was 52 years old; Tommy Lee Jones who continued to play into his 60s; Sylvester Stallone who likened playing Polo to playing golf during an earthquake; Walt Disney who drew Mickey mouse with his own Polo team and of course the Sultan of Brunei – the owner of the largest stables of race horses in the world, whose Royal team regularly takes part in international polo championships. The Prince of Wales and his father Prince Phillip (UK) have also been avid polo players in their time, passing their passion for the game to both Prince William and Prince Harry.
Of all the high profile names connected to Polo one should also not forget Polo Great Tommy Hitchcock Junior who, a leader in the field for 20 years, belongs to the Polo Players Club – a club designed for players who have scored more than 10 goals in the course of their career.
For further information on polo in general from which much of his text has been taken, please refer to www.polo.co.uk/polo_history.htm
